


Terrible Idea, Great Idea

by CuteBobs



Series: NicoMakis [4]
Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Drinking, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-24 05:35:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7495899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuteBobs/pseuds/CuteBobs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>New at the job, Nico already draws the ire of a certain lady. Fortunately, Nico has a terrible idea to save the day</p>
            </blockquote>





	Terrible Idea, Great Idea

After checking her surroundings, Nico reached into her bag, where she kept her emergency apple slices. The air was heavy with clicks and typing. Nobody would notice. When Nico did feel a presence behind her, though, she froze. Please not her boss.

“Hey, Nico.”

Phew, just Eli. Nico shoved the apple in her mouth. “What's up?”

Her hands full with documents, Eli blew a strand of blond hair out of her face. “Have you finished your report?”

“Yeah, wait a sec.” Nico leafed through the pile of paper on her desk. No luck. Right, she had stuck it under the keyboard so she wouldn't forget. Despite the dogear, it looked mostly neat. She handed Eli the result of her morning's work.

“Thanks. Good job, we made it in time. Ma– Nishikino from accounting needs these today and she gets pretty grumpy when people make her wait.”

Nico nodded. Nishikino? Nozomi had probably mentioned her before. Nico offered Eli an apple slice, but she declined, so Nico went back to work. She'd started two weeks ago and was pretty pleased with her office job. People didn't keep a close eye on her,; she could listen to music and eat snacks as long as none of the higher-ups were like, right next to her.

Humming songs by her favorite idols made time fly. She was almost done for the day again. Her contemplation of today's evening was interrupted by a door banging. Stomping followed and headed in her direction. A redheaded lady made her way straight to Nozomi's desk. Nozomi stood up, said something Nico couldn't quite hear and, with an apologetic face, pointed at Nico. The two rushed over to Nico's desk. Was she in trouble? Would she get fired after only two weeks? Please, no! Nico shook in her boots.

“…still new here, Maki,” Nico overheard.

“Be quiet.” The lady didn't seem particularly impressed by Nozomi's objection.

Nico's stomach felt like lead. Had she messed up? But where?

“…You just started here, huh?” Scowling, the lady stopped in front of Nico and towered over her. Nozomi stood behind her and shrugged.

“Y-yeah.”

She took a deep breath, which seemed to calm her down a bit. Her face could almost qualify as indifferent now. “Please open the spreadsheets you were working on for your report.”

“O-okay, just a moment.” Nico stealthily closed her browser and looked for the files. “Here.”

Leaning over Nico, the lady grabbed the mouse and scrolled through. She smelled like roses. “Your report didn't add up.” She stopped at three cells, all some dozens of lines apart. They were empty. “You missed this, this, and this one.” She got up and returned Nico's report. “Please be thorough with your work. One mistake can delay other departments for hours. Make sure you fix this today and bring it to me.”

“I will!”

With a big sigh the lady stomped off again.

“Sorry, Nicocchi. That's just how she is.”

“…Who was that even?”

“Oh. That was Nishikino from accounting. You know, the grumpy one. She seemed pretty restrained, though.”

“Pretty is right.”

“Oh~?” Nozomi leaned into Nico's face. “Does Nicocchi like to get yelled at by pretty girls?”

“Wha– No, I meant she wasn't really restrained!”

Nozomi giggled. “She is very pretty, though. I hear she's single.”

“Hear? Aren't you like friends or something?”

“I wonder~ But I really should leave now. You have a lot of work to do. Send the stuff you were working on before to Eli and me and we'll lend you a hand.”

“Thank you, Nozomi~” Nico almost teared up. It was good to have friends, even if Nozomi was kind of a shit most of the time.

 

When Nico looked up from her finished report to check the time, she noticed she'd been working overtime for two hours already.

“Jesus fucking –” she said and immediately covered her mouth. Everyone else had gone home, right? Close one.

The three missing cells had meant a lot of work looking for documents and calculating new numbers and then adding them and then everything was off by a bit and she had to change everything manually. She really should have signed up for that one software course. Nico grabbed her bag, printed the report and booked it. Two hours overtime and Nishikino still had to do her own work. She was gonna kill Nico. Nico would be killed.

The room was empty except for the redhead illuminated by her computer. When she looked at Nico, she just seemed bored.

“I'm so sorry!” Nico said.

“Thanks. You can go home now.”

“Um.” Nico opened her handbag. “Want an apple slice?” Nishikino could probably use one. Maybe it would improve her mood.

“Uh, sure, I guess. Thanks.” She took a tiny bite, which was cute, and stared at her screen with a bored expression, which was less cute.

“Um. Sorry again. Bye.”

“Mhm. Bye.”

Nico needed to get out of this awkward atmosphere as fast as possible, so she all but dashed off. She shut down her computer, grabbed her things, turned off the lights, and entered the elevator. The guilt ate into her stomach. She hadn't only ruined her own day, but also someone else's. So much effort put into becoming a positive figure in people's lives, just like her favorite idols, and then this.

“Wait!” a familiar voice called out to her.

Nico stopped the elevator and Nishikino got on. Oh shit, had Nico messed up again? No, Nishikino had her bag and stuff with her. Was she going home already?!

“Thanks,” Nishikino said. She stood a good meter away from Nico.

“...You're already done?”

“Hm? Yeah, it was no big deal,” she said matter-of-factly.

Nico could interpret this in several ways. She came to the conclusion that Nishikino must be really good at her job.

The elevator ride was silent, uneventful, terrifying. No way she didn't hate Nico now. Nishikino looked really tense, like she could barely stop herself from taking her frustration out on Nico.

“So. Uh. How do you like this job?” Nishikino said, knocking the wind out of Nico with a simple question.

“Ehh?” They got off the elevator and headed for the exit. Nishikino wasn't her superior, so she probably wouldn't get in trouble if she said something bad, but she didn't really want to leave a worse impression. “I guess it's… pleasant.”

“You mean boring?”

“N-no, I mean… I've had a few jobs before and the hours were worse and the pay was worse and I still had to work a lot harder than here.”

“Ah. I see.”

They had arrived outside. Nico wanted to go home and kick back, but she got a terrible idea. So terrible she couldn't _not_ follow through.

“Do you maybe want to go have a few drinks?”

Nishikino frowned and Nico immediately regretted her question. A glare at her watch and Nishikino agreed. Nico regretted it even more. Still, Nico took her to a nearby bar she frequented. Nozomi and Eli'd better not be there today.

They weren't. Nico ordered the fruitiest cocktail she could find, while Nishikino got vodka, much to Nico's surprise. She'd taken her for the cranberry juice type, reserved as she was. Luckily for her, the drink soon loosened Nishikino up, despite her not even drinking that fast.

“So I was wondering,” Nico said, “why did you ask me how I like this job? It came out of nowhere.”

“Well. I. Apparently I intimidated a few… dozen trainees and interns. I got in trouble with HR all the time, so I… I was worried you might quit, too.”

“Whaaat, you were like, a puppy. A cool puppy, with like a leather jacket.”

“I don't get it, why does everyone think I'm scary? Not even Nozomi wants to hang out with me anymore.”

Nico took a big sip of her cocktail. Kiwi, orange? “Uh, that's probably because she started dating Eli.”

“What. Those two? When.”

Nico shrugged. “Like three months ago.”

“Oh my god, I had no idea.”

“Yeah, I'm her roommate and she just suddenly stopped showing up in the evening and I only found out why after like a month.”

“I'm so gonna make fun of her next time I see her. I can't believe this.”

“But yeah,” Nico said, “I don't think you're scary. Well, now. Maybe you should be drinking on the job.”

Nishikino tousled Nico's hair. “That's a _great_ idea.”

The more they drank, the touchier Nishikino got, until, somehow, Nico woke up in Nish– Maki's bed. Before Nico could process the situation, Maki woke up, stared at Nico, and whispered, “Fuck.” Sitting up, Maki checked her clothes. “We didn't… We didn't, right?!”

Nico still wore her blouse and skirt from yesterday. She didn't feel or see anything unusual, either. “I don't think so?”

“Oh thank god.”

That stung, even if it was definitely better they hadn't had sex. “You don't need to be _that_ relieved…”

Maki blinked rapidly, like her eyes were still full of sleep. “I, I mean, we were drunk and… And we just met yesterday! A-anyway, we need to get ready for work!”

Not the smoothest change of topic, but Maki was right. Nico checked her wrinkled clothes and frowned.

“Here.” Maki tossed her a white shirt. “It's probably too big, but at least presentable.” It smelled like Maki and detergent, which made Nico a little nervous.

“Thanks.”

“I'll use the bathroom first, okay? Do you need anything else?”

“Can I use your kitchen? What do you want for breakfast?” Nico smiled. She hadn't had breakfast with someone else in a while. It was more fun than eating on your own.

“Oh. Um. I don't really have any food here. I buy breakfast on the way and eat out a lot.”

The disappointment prevented Nico's mind from going dirty places. “O-oh, all right. Yeah.” She already felt hunger creeping up on her. Nico vaguely remembered the greasy snacks they had ordered at some point yesterday. She needed her nutrients.

Maki apologized and disappeared into the bathroom. Nico took inventory, with the sound of running water in the background. To her relief, she'd apparently washed off her makeup, so she would be fine after taking a shower. Wearing a skirt two days in a row wasn't that bad. But. Her underwear. That was unacceptable. Nico buried her face in her hands. Even if she asked, there was no way Maki's would fit her. Her new… friend had more in the way of hips and butt than she did.

When Maki was done, Nico couldn't help staring. This lady was gorgeous and Nico could tell she barely wore any makeup, as if she'd never really learned how to do it and was beautiful enough to get away with it. Nico couldn't decide between admiration and envy, but her heart definitely beat faster.

“What?” Maki asked.

Nico scowled and stared off to the side. “You're breathtaking.” It was a painful admission, but Maki's flushed cheeks made it worth it.

“J-Just go wash up!”

 

The shirt _was_ too big.

 

 

They took the train for a while – they only lived two stations apart, it had turned out – and mostly kept silent. The more Nico thought about it, the more awkward the situation became. She'd gotten surprisingly close to having a one-night-stand with a co-worker she'd just met. Was she that kind of girl? Did she want to be? It seemed okay, but she had to confess to herself she wouldn't have wanted this to be their only night out. Maki interrupted her musings by basically dragging her to a convenience store.

“What are we doing here?” Nico asked.

“I just thought you might need…” Maki checked that nobody could overhear them, then whispered anyway. “New underwear.”

“Ah. Y-yeah. I guess.” Impressed by the gesture, Nico still felt weird about it, like there was no way everyone who say her wouldn't immediately think she'd had a naughty night. Which she'd almost had. With the goods secured, Nico caught a glimpse of something rare on the shelves. Dried plums. Something to return the favor. Maki seemed like the kind of woman who didn't care enough about nutrition. After paying, Nico walked up to the redhead and offered her the little bag of fruit.

“Here, you look like you could use these.”

Maki blushed. “Wh-What are you implying?!”

Nico realized, too late, what her offer had sounded like. “N-no, I mean, because, you look like you'd forget to eat all day!”

Maki opened her mouth to reply, but found no words. Finally she nodded, took the bag and said thanks. Her face didn't return to its original color for a while.

When Nico had changed her panties in the bathroom, the pair rode the subway for ten minutes. Maki kept leading the way, even though Nico had already familiarized herself with her new workplace's surroundings. They ended up in a small coffee shop Nico hadn't noticed before, then an independent bakery that sold sandwiches and pastries. Despite Nico's protest, Maki paid for everything. In turn, Nico bullied her into buying a sufficient amount of food. They'd finished part of their breakfast by the time they reached the office.

Were they supposed to split up to prevent rumors? Or did it not matter? Would she get Maki into trouble? Maki, on the other hand, didn't seem to care. Somehow, she looked so peaceful and calm today. Maybe she was only grumpy because she forgot to eat?

“Hey,” Maki said when they were alone in the elevator. “I had fun yesterday. Thanks.”

Nico beamed. “Yeah, me too!” Then the door opened and Maki went straight for her desk. Nico deflated slightly, until she noticed the sly grin of Nozomi waiting around the corner.

“Oh, looks like someone made a new friend~ Did you two have a good time alone in the office? …That's her shirt, isn't it?”

Nico couldn't protest. Her face burned up. How could she possibly reply?

Nozomi whispered in Nico's ear, “I hear she loves the supportive housewife type. Good for you, Nicocchi. You look cute together.”

Nico gave up. “Thanks…” At least now they'd gotten this out of the way, so she could invite Maki to eat lunch with them. This lady would probably forget on her own. Nico smiled at the thought and Nozomi patted her head.

 

When they ran into each other on their way home, Maki greeted Nico with, “Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow?”

Giddily, Nico replied, “I'd love to! But for our next date you'll have to let me cook for you.” The housewife type, eh?

Maki bit her lips like it was the only way for her to hold back. “I, I'll look forward to it.”

Tomorrow was Friday, so their night could easily end up lasting the entire weekend. Nico made a mental note to wear her lucky underwear.

 


End file.
